Erik Jensen, the Minnesota-raised actor best known for his TV roles in "The Walking Dead" and "Mr. Robot," was diagnosed last week with stage 4 colorectal cancer, according to his family.
Now other veterans of "The Walking Dead" franchise, along with members of the wider Hollywood and stage communities, are drumming up support to raise money for his treatment as his family struggles financially amid the ongoing actors' strike. As of Thursday morning, a GoFundMe page started a week ago by his wife, actor Jessica Blank, has raised more than $121,000 toward its goal of $300,000.
The donor list already includes actor Nick Offerman and his wife and fellow actor Megan Mullally, Donna Lynne Champlin of "My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," "WandaVision" director Matt Shakman, "Oz" creator Tom Fontana and the nonprofit Broadway Cares, as well as Emily Kinney, who starred as Beth Greene in "The Walking Dead" throughout the show's 12-year run, including Season 5, where she acted alongside Jensen.
"Stage IV is not a death sentence," says a statement on the fundraising page, which includes a photo of Jensen in a car with Blank and their 13-year-old daughter, Sadie. "Erik is determined to make it through this, and he's working incredibly hard to stay positive and fight for the shot that his doctors know he has."
Jensen, who grew up in Detroit Lakes and Apple Valley, and Blank were in Minnesota this summer producing an independent film, "Rebel Girl," which they co-directed. The film's cast includes Amy Madigan and another "Walking Dead" alum, Cullen Moss.
Jensen's diagnosis came about one-and-a-half years after he survived a brain aneurysm, the statement said. Doctors found that the colorectal cancer has metastasized to his liver, but they may still be able to shrink the tumors enough through chemotherapy so they can operate and remove them.
The financial strain caused by the actors' and writers' double strike is mentioned in the statement, which refers to Blank and Jensen as "full-time freelance artists" who "live without the cushion that long-term commercial work can provide." It adds that the "lack of streaming residuals" has affected them financially, much like "so many middle class working actors."
"Erik's aneurysm, the double strikes and now this diagnosis have put their family in an extremely precarious financial position and they need a lot of help to make it through the next year, pay for treatment to fight his cancer, keep their home, and maintain some sort of stability for Sadie," the statement said.
